Patience
by Silverwavesparkling
Summary: Spoilers Avengers AoU. Pietro has a long, long way to go.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Like so many, I also don´t want Pietro dead, so here is one more story where he does not die!**

 **Feedback, if you like the story or not and why, is welcome, but please don´t be too critical with my English- it´s not my native tongue.**

 **Patience**

Patience is a virtue. That is how the saying goes.

Pietro never had that virtue, not even before his power of superspeed emerged. He had always been a restless soul, wanting thing when he wanted them.

Wanda on the other hand had always been a patient one. With Pietro for a brother that was not surprising really, because it needed a lot patience to be his sister.

But at this point in time Wanda did not feel very patient. There was only one thing that she wanted... and she wanted it to happen right then. She wanted for Pietro to wake up and be himself again.

However she knew that it was not so easy. Pietro was lucky to be still alive- if one could call him that.

His chest was moving up and down, but it wasn´t him who breathed. It was a machine. His face was pale and gaunt. His eyes were closed and his body still. Lots of tubes were connected to him- for medicine, for fluids, for nutrition.

Wanda was grateful that he was still here with her, of course she was, but she wondered if he ever would wake up again and if... would he still be the Pietro she knew?

There was one thing she was sure about though. If he would wake, he would need patience. And for him to walk the long road, yes walk, not run, back into life he would need Wanda´s help, her love and her patience, because it was her alone who could calm his restless soul.

Wanda closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to find the virtue in her again. When she opened her eyes, she knew she could do whatever she had to do for Pietro. She would wait and stroke his hand or hair, she would read to him, talk to him, sing to him...whatever it was she would do it. If it took days, weeks, months, years...she would be at his side, never to leave, never to lose hope, never to despair.

With this new found determination she bent down and kissed Pietro softly on the forehead. "Good Morning, brother" she whispered. "What do you say about a bath today?"

Wanda filled a little basin with warm water and took out a fresh washcloth. Turning back to her brother she smiled. "Well, in truth it will be a "cat-wash", but if we have learned one thing, than it´s that one should not be picky, right? And besides you always preferred a "cat-wash" anyway. The girl giggled at the memory.

"This is the first time in these five weeks that I see a smile on your face," a gentle voice spoke from the doorway.

Wanda jumped in surprise.

"I am sorry. I didn´t mean to scare you." Steve gave her an apologetic smile.

In the last weeks of her life Wanda had to learn many things. For one, she had to learn to be not only a sister to her brother, but also a nurse. She had refused to let someone else take care of him in that intimate way he needed care. And she also had to learn to trust these people, she was living with now. Actually she still was learning, but she did understand that they were truly good people, who had no second motives, but just wished to help her and Pietro to heal – both in body and soul- and who might even become friends.

"Hello Steve, "she greeted the man. "It´s just... I remembered... "Wanda stopped and looked to the ground. She felt insecure all of the sudden. Should she share parts of her past with him? Even when it was only a funny memory, it still felt strange... new. She had never shared anything with anyone, only with her brother.

Steve waited patiently for her to continue and gave her an encouraging smile.

"When we were children...", Wanda continued, deciding she indeed could speak to Steve, feeling only friendliness and interest on his side.

" _Wanda, Pietro! Bath-time!" Ms. Maximoff called through the window of the small apartment she and her family lived in._

 _The twins, who had been playing in front of the house, looked up and like it was every Sunday (they took a bath only on Sunday, because water was a limited luxury) she saw two very different expressions on the faces of her children._

 _Wanda beamed up at her and clapped her hands in anticipation. "Bath-time!" she repeated in a happy tone and made a beeline towards the door._

 _Her son on the other hand... he looked up at her in horror. "Not again!" he moaned. "I just had a bath!" he called up at her, looking grumpy._

" _That was last week, dear! Now, hurry up and come upstairs, before the water gets cold. You especially need a bath!"_

 _Pietro looked down at his torn clothes, his dirty knees shining through, his brownish hands and nails._

" _Do not!" he mumbled and seeing that his mother had turned away from the window towards Wanda who had arrived in the room, he made to retreat down the street._

 _However... suddenly his feet left the ground and he was thrown over someone´s shoulder hanging there like a bag of potatoes._

" _Papa!" the boy growled. "Let me down!"_

 _The man just laughed. "You don´t want to miss your bath, do you?" he asked and carried him whistling into the house and up the stairs, seemingly not hearing a word of his son´s protests. He dumped him ungracefully into the tub next to his sister, clothes and all._

" _Papa!" Pietro wailed, but his wail was drowned out by the laughter of his sister and parents. A pout formed on the boy´s face, but as Pietro never did things very long, it was soon replaced by a grin, when he discovered how much he could annoy Wanda with splashing water in her face._

Steve chuckled at the story. "Sounds like life is never boring with a brother like him, huh?" he asked and the girl nodded. "He can be so annoying, but now I wish he would annoy me again... 24/7... if he would just wake up."

The Captain put a hand on Wanda´s shoulder. "He is healing. But it will take time."

"I know. But what if... what if he is not Pietro anymore when he wakes...what if he is ...different?"

"Then you´ll love him just the same. He is always your brother."

Wanda smiled up at Steve. "Yes. Yes, you are right. Thank you..."

"You´re welcome. And now...bath-time I suppose," he said with a wink. "If you need something, anything, don´t hesitate to ask, Wanda.

When Steve had left the infirmary Wanda peeled the blanket of her brother and gently washed him. His wounds were healing well- soon they would be just a mere memory.

Cautiously she cleaned the areas around his breathing tube, around the IV´s that vanished into the skin of his hands and around the feeding tube that went directly into his stomach.

At last she took of the diaper around his hips and washed him there. This felt still very strange to do, but it must be done and she was rather doing it herself than let someone else change him.

Everything done she filled a syringe with his breakfast and fed him via the tube, before pulling the blanket back in place and sitting down on the chair next to his head, stroking his hair and humming a soft melody.

 **Pietro felt her presence. She was near, but he couldn´t see her. It was so dark around him. There was no up or down, it was all just a black night in every direction. Just sometimes far off he saw a dim red star that seemed to call him. He could feel warmth radiate from it and he wanted to go there, but he didn´t know how to reach it. He tried to call out to it, but he couldn´t make a sound. He felt trapped and so very frustrated. Anger began to swirl through his being. Why couldn´t he go to the red star? He wanted to go there! Now!**

Wanda had stopped her humming and stared at her brother intensely. In the last weeks she was hardly able to get any hold of her brothers being. He was so weak and seemed so far away, but now she could feel his presence a little clearer again. She concentrated, trying to decipher what it was that her brother was feeling, to calm him should he be in pain or feel scared, but the one prominent feeling that she could read was... impatience. And that made her chuckle a little.

"Patience is a virtue, Pietro, don´t you know?" she told him and her heart felt lighter, because however strange and painful it was to see her brother so dependant and helpless, this part of him was so very familiar... so very Pietro. He was still there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pietro tried to kick out with his feet to get closer to the red star. He could hear voices now. He could not make out word´s though. It was more like a melody floating to him from that source of light. It felt gentle and friendly. Pietro wanted to hear more of it. He felt calmness spread through his being and began to relax.**

Wanda cleared her throat and drank some water. Her voice started to sound a bit hoarse. She had been reading to her brother for hours now and she didn´t really want to stop, because she had the feeling he was in a way listening, but she knew her voice needed a rest and besides that she was really hungry.

The girl put the book down and stood up from the chair. Her thump stroking Pietro´s cheek she told him:"I´ll be back in half an hour, brother."

She left the room, but just as she closed the door she was stopped by the sound of an irate heart-monitor. Pietro´s heart was suddenly racing.

 **Pietro started to panic. The light was gone. The voice was gone. It was so cold and silent. He felt alone. He needed the light. He didn´t want to be alone. He put all effort in getting to where the light had been. He had to find it again... he had to...**

 **Pietro instantly relaxed when the light returned, sending out warmth and the melody.**

Wanda stood at Pietro´s side, her right hand placed over his heart and the left on his forehead. "All is well, Pietro," she whispered. "I am here. You don´t need to be afraid. I am here. All is well."

With her touch Pietro´s heart-rate had slowed down again and he seemed fine. But Wanda was facing a dilemma now. She did not want to leave his side again, but she was still hungry.

With a sigh she plopped down on the chair, when Steve´s words echoed in her mind. "If you need something, anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"Friday?"

"Yes, Ms. Maximoff? What can I do for you?" the friendly computer voice asked.

"Is Steve nearby?"

"Captain Rogers is in the training area. Would you like to send him a message?"

Wanda hesitated for just one moment. "Yes. I... could you tell him that... I need his assistance here?"

"Of course Ms. Maximoff."

"Thank you."

Not even 5 minutes passed and Steve stood in the doorway, a smile on his face and a question mark in his eyes.

"How can I be off help Wanda? Is everything alright?"

"Thank you for coming so quickly. It´s...I need to leave for a few minutes, but I can´t. Pietro gets scared when I do."

"He does?" Steve looked at the speedster and grinned. "That is great Wanda!"

The girl looked perplexed. "It is great that my brother gets scared?"

Steve placed both hands on the girl´s shoulders. "Well, not that he is scared, but that he can sense if you are there or not and that he is reacting to it. He is coming back to you, Wanda!"

Wanda clapped her hand over her mouth and tears started to spill from her eyes. Overwhelmed by a feeling of relief she embraced the Captain. "He is coming back to me! He truly is!"

Wanda looked up at Steve happily, but her face changed to one of embarrassment when her stomach chose this moment in time to growl very, very loudly.

Steve chuckled. "How about some food?" he asked. "I can bring it here, if you´d rather not leave your brother."

A few days later Pietro took another big step forward. He opened his eyes. Wanda felt like dancing and anxiously waited for Dr. Cho to finish examining her brother.

"He is not in a coma any longer," she concluded at last and Wanda felt her heart take a joyous leap. "However, he still has a long way to go. His brain was without oxygen for several minutes."

"He is awake, isn´t he? He has his eyes open!" Wanda exclaimed. "Now he will be better!"

"That is what we all hope, dear. Your brother however is not what we would call awake..."

"But just said he is not in a ..."

"Please, listen. Yes, I said he is not in a coma any longer. He is now in what we call a vegetative state. He will have his eyes open sometimes and will sleep at other times, but he is not conscious...not truly."

Dr. Cho saw the pain return to Wanda´s eyes and quickly she continued. "However, this is the next state of progression. And that is a big step up. Do not lose hope, my dear. This cannot be rushed. It takes time."

Wanda sighed. "I just thought... I hoped... I..." She stared into the unfocused eyes of her brother. They were as blue as they had always been, but there was no life in them. They looked empty. Wanda couldn´t help it. Tears were silently rolling down her cheeks. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Steve´s compassionate face.

 **The darkness was not as dark anymore. Pietro could not point out exactly what had changed, but it seemed to him as if sometimes different colors would weave itself through his night. They came and they went, came and went. Who was making them, he wondered. And there were other things he wondered about. Sometimes there was this pain in him. It spread out everywhere and then it was gone again. But it came back regularly and it was unpleasant. Right now he already could feel it creeping up again. He wanted to tell the red star and put all his strength into achieving his goal.**

"Ahhhmm".

Wanda turned around in shock and nearly dropped the syringe that she had been filling with the liquid that served as Pietro´s food.

"Ahhmm," he "spoke" again and his arms and legs moved restlessly under his white blanket.

Wanda was at his side in an instant. "Pietro? Can you hear me? Pietro? I am here."

Pietro just continued to move and moan, his eyes searching through the room, without seeing anything.

"What is it, brother? What is wrong?"

Wanda felt panic arise in her. Was he in pain? She reached out to him with her mind.

"Oh...you are hungry, aren´t you? Shame on me! I am a little late today with your feeding, but give me just one more second."

She connected the syringe with the tube that let into her brother´s stomach and slowly emptied it. Pietro stilled down, seemingly content now. His searching eyes came to a stop.

" **Wanda", Pietro thought. Pictures were whirling in his mind. A girl was running down the street. Her long hair was flowing behind her and the sunshine let it sparkle red. She turned around. She was laughing. "Pietro! Catch me!" she called.**

Wanda clapped her hands over her mouth. In her brothers eyes had been life again. Just for a short moment, but there all the same. He had looked at her. Pictures of happy days long past reached Wanda´s mind. Pietro´s memories.

" _Pietro! Catch me!" Wanda called and turned around again to run as fast as she could. She knew Pietro would catch her, because he was faster than her. He always caught her and then he tickled her mercilessly and made her say: "Pietro is the best brother in the world and he is older than me!"_

 _Wanda ran and ran and jumped over some puddles that were in the way, left over from a summer thunderstorm in the morning. She giggled when she heard Pietro coming up beside her, but instead of the expecting "Got you!" she heard a big splash and got covered in water droplets._

 _Wanda turned around to see Pietro lying face first in a big mud puddle._

 _"Pietro!" she called in fear. "Are you hurt?"_

 _She bent down, turned the boy around and saw a grin on his face. Suddenly arms wrapped around her shoulders and before she could react, she was laying in the puddle herself, her very muddy brother sitting on top of her._

 _Wanda screeched. "Pietro! You sly...". She could not finish her sentences though, because the master-tickler had started his work._

 _"You know what you have to say!" he called in glee. "Never!" Wanda laughed. "Say it!" Pietro tickled the spot that he knew was his sister´s most ticklish spot. "Say it or I´ll never stop!"_

Wanda smiled at this memory. She bent down to her brother and whispered into his ear. "You are the best brother in the world and you are older than me!"

 **AN:** I am no expert on coma, so I have no idea, if what I write is medically correct. However I know there are different stages. So in this part we see three stages: Coma, Vegetative Stage and Minimally Conscious State. Of course we see a little more, because of Wanda being able to read Pietro´s mind... no idea if in reality someone in a Minimally Conscious State could already remember things like this, even though he/she cannot communicate it yet.


End file.
